under the same sun
by quandtuesla
Summary: a tale of the ocean and love and things that don't always make sense, but in they end they really do make sense.


all righhhht, so this was something i promised **ari** (go thank her and send her love! victoireslupin over at tumblr) way back in march and here we are in july. alas it is not a klaroline piece (I AM SO SORRY TO THOSE WHO WERE EXPECTING THAT, REALLY. I LOVE YOU ALL AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO THINK I'VE FALLEN OFF THE FACE OF THE PLANET. really, life has been crazy and i just want you all to know that i am in the midst of typing out things from my journal but that will take a while so just bear with me pleasee. and back to what this is all about, this is a mermaid inspired piece for martinski/stydia(idk which name has actually been chosen) from teen wolf and i hope you all enjoy. so i hope you all enjoy it and please be kind because this has not been beta'ed and is bound to have mistakes.

and onward.

...

The curse slipped through her lips gracefully in a way that only Lydia could pull off speaking vulgarities while looking like a delicate rose. She gazed bitterly up at the dock, huffing and crossing her arms together.

He was back. Fiddling with that contraption of his and shouting unnecessarily every time it beeped. Lydia knew what he was looking for, it had taken a few weeks but she'd caught a glance of his sketchbook. It was surprising to see a ground-walker that hadn't given her kind excessive gills, made them out to look like aliens from space, or worse-some sexy siren bimbo that served only to seduce men. Ground-walker's were idiots when it came to her kind if not downright ignorant and delusional.

But this one was different. Persistent and always on schedule. It was getting on her last nerve. Who the hell was he to infringe on her time at the dock. Because this was definitely Lydia's dock. There hadn't been a ground-walker on this abandoned side of the marina in years, and his presence was beginning to really irk her. She had gotten annoyed with him after day three of whatever little adventure he was intent on having, and now it was just ridiculous that he was still there.

"Fucking Ground-walker's back again Alli." she yelled back to her sister. Her glare intent on the boy with the glasses, it was as if she thought she could disappear him altogether if she just wished hard enough.

"You think it's time to tell mom and dad?"

"Are you kidding me? They'd ground us until graduation if they knew we'd been exploring the marina. No, we just have to wait for him to get bored. Trust me, he'll be gone like all the others."

Lydia swirled around to face Allison reaching out to calm her worries away.

"He's just a kid. Nothing to worry about. Besides, you still want to go back and see if you can find that necklace don't you?

Allison looked up warily at the young boy that had interrupted her sister's reckless exploring and thought about the delicate chain she almost recovered before he had shown up. Lydia was right though, they never lasted. And this child was no different. She sighed and nodded at her sister, nodding back in the direction of their home.

"Ready to head back, then?"

"Actually, I think I'm going to stop by the Grotto for a while. See you later?"

Allison knew better than to think that Lydia was actually going to drop this, she was much too stubborn to ever let go of anything that was in her way. And it had been weeks since her big sister had been up to her dock, it was killing her and Allison was surprised she had lasted this long. She was so damn intrigued by the world above the ocean and Allison often worried it would land her in trouble. For now though, Lydia knew better than to be reckless. Allison nodded at her sister and swam away leaving her to her secrets before she could change her mind and get dragged into whatever scheme Lydia was planning.

The Grotto only managed to frustrate Lydia more. She hadn't been able to add to her collection in almost a month, and she was starting to think that maybe this ground-walker had no intention of leaving. And if he didn't leave, she would have to find a new abandoned dock, or risk heading to the harbor. Her parents would disown her if they ever found out she had entertained the thought, but she was an adventurer. And she was more than willing to risk it all just for a chance to see life outside of the ocean. She tinkered with the leather band she had managed to pull out from the cracks of the marina before "glasses" had showed up and caused her and Alli to hide under a boat until he was distracted enough.

Lydia still hadn't managed to figure to exactly what this was. It was much to small to be a belt, too wide to be a necklace, too long to belong to a watch, and it was braided. The leather had felt taught and when when she first tugged it from the wood and she figured it had been there for a few years, slowly making its way to a part of the dock she could reach. But what was it? She sighed again for the 5th time in a row before setting the band back down and giving up on her guessing game. Lydia took a look around at all of her findings and shut her eyes tightly hoping that the boy would be gone tomorrow. She wanted things to go back to normal, and if he kept it up things could go bad. Lydia didn't want to be caught in the middle of a political war that would rock all of their lives.

The last time that a ground-walker had shown this much interest, the president was thrown out of office and someone had died. It had split the country in two, and though Alli had been too young to remember anything, Lydia remembered how much anger and madness it had caused. There were riots, and her parents were so paranoid and out of their minds even though they hid it pretty well. Things were never good when a ground-walker decided to get nosy, and this one was getting too close for comfort. She opened her eyes and looked over things once again before turning her tail and heading back home.

—

Lydia floundered about a bit, getting closer to the dock and watching the young man from below. It had been months now, and "Glasses" was still coming back. The only thing that gave her peace about the whole situation was that the construction of the new Parliament building had effectively maneuvered everyone away form realizing that a ground-walker was searching for their existence. She had realized he had a pattern, on weekdays he was alway there in the afternoons until the moon rose, and on weekends he would spend Saturday working on his gadgets and marking down things in his journals. Sundays tended to be fair game, and if it weren't for family dinners, Lydia would have a solid day of exploring before her.

He certainly was determined, never missing a weekday and always talking a loud to voice his opinion on the situation he happened to be stuck on. Sometimes he would sing and it made Lydia happy to hear him, even if she didn't want to admit it. She wasn't quite sure when he stopped being a nuisance and when he had suddenly become someone Lydia looked forward to seeing. She loved to listen to his grandiose monologues dedicated to the sea, they were a mess of words and optimism that Lydia fed off of. He would quote literature and could spend hours rattling on about and sometimes he would leave gifts out in the water like bait. It was funny to watch him lower down a basket and yell out to the ocean about how he was leaving behind important things and how he knew where to get more if they needed them.

And his smile after discovering the baskets were gone, was quite possibly one of the cutest things Lydia had ever seen. He had jumped and ended up slipping on his boat the first time it happened and Lydia couldn't help but laugh. All of the baskets were safely in the Grotto now, and Lydia found that he really was an intelligent ground-walker. He had slowly created a small line of gadgets that all worked under water and she would wait anxiously for every new basket now. It wasn't that mer-people weren't capable of creating the same things he did, but there was something special about the time he spent on trying to make life better for beings he didn't even have proof of.

The last basket had carried his own ingenious version of paper and ink that would hold underwater, and it had sparked an idea in her mind. Allison would kill her is she knew what she was about to do, but when Lydia looked down at the intricately folded piece of paper she was holding, she couldn't help but feel like this was right. Lydia swam closer to his boat, reaching the underside and breathing calmly, and she smiled when she heard the strums of his guitar. He would be sufficiently distracted as soon as he started singing. She waited patiently, allowing herself to relax against the boat as the strumming continued.

"Mad sounds in your ears, they make you feel alright/They bring you back to life"

She sighed happily, swaying to the smooth tone of his lice and for a moment considered peeking over the edge go the boat just to see what he would do.

"Mad sounds in your ears, they make you get up and dance/They make you get up/Yeah they make you get up"

Her hand started ghosting up when Allison's voice rang in her mind. _"You never think about how dangerous the things you do are! For one second, could you stop being so selfish? _

Her hand stopped below the surface of the water and Lydia opened her eyes, glancing behind her to reassure herself that she was alone. But the though of Allison's disappointment was enough to ruin the moment. Their argument had taken place the last time she caught Lydia watching "Glasses" and Lydia still didn't know where they stood.

He was still singing and even though Lydia wanted to come up for air and join in, she knew she couldn't.

"Then out of nowhere somebody comes and hits you with an/Ooh la la la la…"

For now, her short note would have to suffice. Lydia broke the surface quickly and stuck the note on the ring buoy before she could change her mind and swiftly slipped under water again. She sped home without looking back and barged into Allison's room.

"Would it kill you to knock-"

Lydia cuts off her sister's words with a fierce hug and Allison is startled at the sudden show of affection.

"I just want you to know that I love you." Lydia lets out and she slowly unwraps her arms from her sister's body and Allison tilts her head in confusion.

"You are so weird," she points out and laughs quietly. "But I love you too."

Lydia grins at her sister and flops down onto a chair and looking around the room and humming softly as Allison settles back comfortably on her bed.

"Ooh la la la la…/You got those mad sounds in your ears to make you get up and dance/Mad sounds in your ears, they make you get up and dance"

—

He almost missed it. The paper was so small and tucked up into the ring buoy that Stiles almost missed it.

But there it was, a small folded piece of paper that hadn't been there the last time he had anchored _Claudia _onto the dock. His hands were shaking and he could grip onto the paper as it opened up to a set of neat words.

_You're on the right track Glasses, but we don't have scales on our faces. You also forgot the gills on our arms. I don't even know why I'm writing this. Probably because no one will believe where it came from, but I thought you deserved some hope. Thank you for the flashlight, it's almost as functional as ours. Not that I can hold it against you because ground-walkers don't have access to our technology. Well, I have said far too much already. Just know that you aren't all alone. _

_P.S. chocolate bars don't survive the trip underwater without some sort of protective cover, but the thought was nice. _

He stared a the note for what seemed like hours, running his hand over the ink and suddenly he jumped up.

"YES! I knew it! I KNEW it!"

He was moving wildly and the grin on his face only grew as he clutched the letter closer. Stiles was mumbling incoherently at this point and had he been on a populated dock, someone would have called the sheriff by now. Not that it would have made a difference since the sheriff was his dad. He glanced up from the note and his eyes took in the ocean, waving the note and smiling he yelled out louder successfully scaring off any birds near his general area.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

He turned rapidly, a mess of long limbs and started searching for something frantically. He heeled triumphantly again as his notebook came into view and he carefully tucked the note away.

She almost missed it. Jackson had been intent on asking her to accompany him to the Parliament Gala and Lydia had almost missed it.

She had swum quickly and stopped when she heard incoherent yelps from above. A smile graced her face and Lydia twirled when his thank you's echoed down to where she was. This moment seemed worth the risk and she laughed when he yelled again.

"I knew it."

Her sister's harsh voice broke the moment and Lyda turned around.

"I knew there was a reason you barged into my room. But no, I thought I would give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Alli-"

"No! Do you have any idea how stupid this little stunt of yours was? Oh sure, it's just a note. One that no one will ever believe in, but next it'll be an actual interaction. And then we'll be exposed. Mom and dad could lose everything. We could lose everything!"

Allison stopped speaking, taking in a harsh breath and glaring at Lydia.

"It isn't even like that Alli. It's just a note." Lydia stammers out and she winced when Allison scoffed out loud.

"I know you better than that. You've gone and attached yourself to a ground-walker and it's not going to be _just a note_."

"He's different!" Lydia yelled, instantly regretting the words when her sister's face turned to stone.

"Different? You actually think you know him Lydia? Based off of what? Your observations? You don't know him, any of them. And if you think that he's any different than the monsters who killed Kate, then there is something seriously wrong with you."

"I don't need you to remind me about Kate, Allison. I was there, and you weren't. I know what happened. I know that they aren't fucking saints. But he- He is different! He's kind and he leaves us things-"

"He what?"

"-All he wants is to know what we're okay. He never dives or sets traps, fuck, he doesn't even take any damn pictures. Alli, I need you to trust me on this. He's di-"

"Different, yeah I get it." They stood at a distance and Allison looked up to the surface, closing her eyes and breathing in quietly.

"Promise me you'll be careful. Lydia, you need to be careful. This isn't a game and I can't lose you."

Then Lydia's arms wrapped around her sister's and Allison cried out softly.

"I can't lose you,"

"You won't. I promise, just promise me you won't tell anyone about him."

Lydia pulled away from her embrace, watching her sister closely for a sign that everything would be okay and Allison's small sigh made her smile brightly.

"Thank you Alli."

Allison nodded, glancing up at the surface hoping she's made the right decision. Lydia tugs on her arm, rambling on about something and Allison finally turns her attention back to her sister.

"Come on, I have so many things to show you."

—

_To whomever it may concern, I am really glad that my gifts have found their way to you. I'm really glad the flashlight comes in handy. I guess I'll have to make alterations for the gills on the jacket now. Thanks for the information, thank you for writing to a mere ground-walker. I hope this basket gets to you safely. _

_P.S. Duly noted, I hope this one reaches you in its natural condition. _

_—_

_Glasses, you definitely have to alter the jacket. Although, our skin is different from yours, there isn't really a need for a jacket like that unless its for a long trip. And usually it's the men who need another layer to stay warm. Thank you for the new pen and paper, the white ink was a smart move. _

_P.S. The chocolate was delicious. I think I understand why ground-walkers like it so much. _

_—_

_So you're a mermaid, right? The comment about men, was to give me a clue, right? I could look into gloves, or masks instead of jackets, give you something that can have a better grip on things under surface. If it's not too much of a bother, could you tell me the temperature of your body? Do you still have lungs, or do the gills take care of that? Can you change into a ground-walker, is that what you called me? I got carried away, sorry, but I am so curious. Is your skin like a dolphin's? Do you have skin colors, okay I'll stop. _

_P.S. You haven't even tried the best chocolate yet. _

_—_

_Take a breath Glasses. Yes, I am a mermaid, nice job catching the clue. We don't need gloves for gipping things, our skin is made for things like that. A mask, would be helpful for the wastelands, we use seaweed, but it isn't the best method. You sure ask a lot of questions. Our body temperature is similar to yours actually, we're a lot like dolphins if you're curious about us. 36° to 37°C is usually where it's at, and our skin is similar to a dolphins just not as slippery. And yes we have skin tones, there are mer-people all over the world, we're not all the same tone. The gills take care of everything under the surface, but we still have lungs. I am going to stop now too, I don't even know why I am telling you all of this. _

_P.S. I wasn't a big fan of the last chocolate bar. _

_—_

_A mermaid, wow, That is so cool. And your answers, were more than helpful, I think I have a better understanding for how you function as a being now. I know I ask a lot of questions, so just tell me whenever I am getting too annoying. Your hands, do they have a layer of scales or some type of texture? And does this mean you're American? Obviously you speak english, but do you know other languages. Dolphins are my favorite in school, they're such intelligent animals and it's freaking amazing that I can study them to learn more about you. _

_P.S. I hope this next one is better. And you can call me Stiles. _

_—_

_Stiles, that's an interesting name. If that was your way of asking for my name, I am sorry to disappoint, but it's not happening. Trust me, I will let you know when you're being annoying. You could say that's what we have on our hands, it's a little more complicated than that though. Only mer-people have hands like this. I am not American, it was ground-walker's that gave arbitrary titles to humans. We're sons and daughters of the sea, and we know we're all different but don't need to have a label. I know English because of the ground walkers. Mer-people are fantastic with languages, I know 10 personally and that's not including mer-dialects. You aren't the only intelligent beings in this world, even if you like to think so. And school, what do you study? _

_P.S. This chocolate was an improvement, I still like the first one better. _

_—_

_So I'm going to have to work harder for your name then? That's okay with me, I plan on being here for a while. Plus, you've grown on me. Daughter of the sea then, I guess it does make sense that you wouldn't follow our system for running things. We do have a tendency to fuck things up. I can speak 9 languages, so we're close as far as human languages go. Maybe you can teach me a mer dialect? I think you've proven that we are definitely not the only intelligent beings alive. I study marine biology, so everything about your home really._

_P.S. Sticking to the safe milk chocolate bar? Let's see if this one changes your mind. _

_—_

Lydia had lost count of all of their notes, it had turned from scientific questions to personal inquiries on how school and academics worked in both of their worlds. To musing about how different their music and literature was. And then Stiles had mentioned films, and Lydia had asked questions for weeks. Intrigued by moving pictures with sound, something that mer-people still didn't have. She was dying to see one of the films he mentioned, but was careful to not let him know that. _Stiles_, she loved whispering his name in hushed tones, rolling it off of her tongue carefully with delicacy and keeping it her own.

He had attempted to discover her name a few more times, but Lydia was resilient. It had been a month since their corespondency had begun and Lydia was thankful that Allison had kept her word on not telling anyone. And Parliament had begun the construction of the new University, which had caused a whole new distraction from Stiles' existence. She thanked the Gods for allowing whatever this was to unfold. Lydia knew that it was dangerous to fall in love, even worse to have any affection for someone she could never be with. So she convinced herself that the butterflies in her stomach and the pounding in her heart whenever he would speak out to her, where nothing. But the problem with being in denial was that sooner or later reality was going to hit her back and there wouldn't be any where for her to hide anymore.

She pushed aside all the feelings that accompanied Stiles when she reached the edge of her buoy, glancing up to see _Claudia _anchored to the dock. Her smile dropped when Stiles walked around to the deck and another figure followed him. She froze, watching as they sat down and kept talking. Who the hell was that? What in the world was Stiles thinking? Her curiosity beat her annoyance as she watched Stiles and the newcomer laugh and talk. She moved a little closer, coming up to the very end of the dock and wondering who this ground walker was.

The closer she got, the louder their voices got, and Lydia kept a close ear to the direction in which they where coming from. Stiles laughed again and she couldn't help but feel annoyed at the way her heart skipped a beat. This was not the time for insignificant feelings to get in the way. She was closer to Claudia than she normally was, the first time they exchanged notes being the only time Lydia had ventured this close to the 1998 Catalina 400, every other time she stuck to his baskets, leaving behind a small note and taking whatever he left her. There wasn't a need for her to take such a risk for him, but this changed everything. He had brought someone with him, and there was no way she was just going to drop this.

"Even Isaac is going. Isaac Stiles! Isaa-"

"I get it, Isaac is going to the dance. You don't have to repeat a million times Scott."

_Scott. _It sounded like he was just a harmless friend, but Lydia still moved closer to the boat.

"Look, all I'm saying is that you spend all your time out here anyways, and it wouldn't be the end of the world if you were to take a night off from whatever you're doing out here to have some fun with your friends. Erica and Boyd are coming back for it and my-"

"All right, all right. I get it. Let me think about it, yeah?"

Lydia felt a sting of something at the mention of Stiles' life outside of his time here on their Marina. It wasn't that she didn't know that he would have friends and a family outside of his time spent wringing to her and researching more about mer-people, but it was different when the reality of it all was right in front of her.

They were talking about some kind of event, and Lydia tried to imagine Stiles walking about with his friends. Laughing and having a good time, and she didn't even realize she was holding her breath until Stiles' laugh broke through her haze.

"I'm serious!" the other boy exclaimed and Lydia craned her head closer.

"Stiles, all you have to show up on her doorstep and ask her to the dance and I swear to you that Cora will say yes."

Cora?

Stiles groaned and whacked the Scott fellow with his arm, but the water felt eerily still for Lydia.

Cora.

There was a new feeling rising up inside of her, and Lydia didn't have name for what she was feeling. It felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest, but not in a good way. Blood was rushing from her face and the ocean was crashing in her ears, warning of a storm that was on the cusp of destroying everything in its path.

Cora.

She probably had pretty dark hair like all the sketches Stiles had given her, and her eyes were probably like chocolate. Warm and inviting, nothing like her wild red hair and piercing hazel eyes. Se was probably tiny, and dainty and she was probably a history student who gave Stiles all of his facts. She was real, and she was human, someone that Stiles could actually be with.

Cora.

Lydia din't care about anything in that moment, she reached up to wipe away the hot tears that had escaped her eyes, Mad at herself for being delusional enough to think that this was something that was normal, something that could turn into…

The water swirled harshly around her as she turned and left the docks. Her tail slapping hard against the water as if it could somehow disappear everything that had just happened.

Cora.

The name swirled around in her mind, and no matter how fast she moved through the water, it wouldn't leave. She let out a frustrated sigh and turned away from her current path and wandering off to the reefs.

—

Stiles was ready to respond to Scott's unsubtle push to get him to finally ask out Cora Hale, when a noise caught him off guard. He turned his head to catch a small glimpse of a figure moving under water. Was that a fin?

He stood up, stepping forward to the edge of his boat and watched the water intently, and there it was again. It was definitely a fin, he leaned over the edge of the railing and ignored Scott's jabbering about the dance and held his breath as he scanned the water for another sign that he wasn't having a delusion.

Right there, past the first buoy in the ocean, the fin came up for half a second before it disappeared again.

She had been here.

Stiles let a breath out and he continued to stare out at the spot by the buoy. Holy Shit.

She had been here. She had come close enough that Stiles could have seen her. She was watching him, and she had been here. His eyes scanned under the dock and Scott was still going on about Cora.

Cora.

Dammit, she had been close enough to hear everything Scott was talking about. Is that why she had left? Did it have to do anything with Cora and the thought that he was possibly going to be with another person? But there was no way she could possibly be jealous, she had to know what she was special and that Stiles was borderline in love with her. The daughter of the sea whose curiosity and intelligence captivated him, she had to know that there was more to this than his avid research of marine life.

Scott was saying something about his mom and suddenly Stiles broke out of his thoughts.

"Wait, you actually witnessed it? My dad actually kissed your mom? It's finally happening?"

Scott laughed and Stiles threw his hands up in despair once he realized Scott was making things up to bring him back to reality.

"I knew that was going to work, I knew it."

"Well, we've only been waiting for them to realize they're in love since middle school Scott. That wasn't fair." Stiles muttered as he glanced back at the buoy. "You know what?"

"What Stiles?"

"I'm beat, lets go home."

There wasn't much he could do with Scott here and it was getting late. If they sailed back to the Harbor, they could probably pick up Malia and his dad from the station and have dinner at the McCall's. Tomorrow he would be back, and tomorrow he would make sure she finally came out of hiding.

—

Two weeks of silence. No notes, no sign of a fin or tail anywhere and Stiles was starting to think that he had imagined it all. But every time he opened his notebook and saw her words scrawled along the paper he made he knew that it was real. She was confused, that had to be it. Unsure of coming to the surface and maybe a little scared of what they had started. It sure scared the hell out of him.

He was sitting on the dye of the dock, watching the buoy and thinking about how attached he'd become to this girl. That's what she was when it came down to it, sure she was a mermaid, but she still had feelings and thoughts and was mot likely confused about him. She had probably beginning to trust him and then the reality of their differences where brought to life when he decided to bring Scott along.

"Ma, what am I supposed to do?" he asked out loud up to the sky. "I was doing this for you, to know that your research wouldn't go to waste and now I don't know what I am doing it for anymore. There's something about her and I don't even know what it is. But I know I can't step forward to some lab and prove that you were right for the sake of proving those assholes wrong. I know you wouldn't want that."

Stiles sighed loudly, bringing his hands up to cover his face.

"Oh my God, what am I even doing?"

The water felt so cool and calm as his feet swirled lazily in it and suddenly he jumped up. Stiles pulled his shirt over his head, stripping down to his boxers and before he could change his mind he dove into the water. It was cold, his lungs were burning, and when he finally came up for air Stiles felt like he was 5 years old again. Jumping into the ocean with his mom and waiting to see how long it would take before he absolutely needed a breath again. He could see her smile and hear her laugh as he swam out to the buoy.

_"You're such a strong boy Stiles."_

_"Don't give up on your dreams, don't ever give up baby."_

_"I'm so proud of you."_

_"It's going to be okay."_

His arms were straining andaching as he pulled his arms tautly for each stroke.

_"Take care of your daddy for me, will you."_

"_You're going to such an amazing man."_

_"One day you're going to meet someone who'll light up your eyes and you'll never look back."_

_"I love you so much."_

He finally came up for air, reaching out to grab the buoy and breathing harshly. He let his head touch the cool metal and breathed in and out trying to grab a hold of his memories.

"I miss you Ma. And I don't know what to do anymore. Please…"

He stopped speaking letting the wind brush against his skin and the air reach his lungs again. Out here in the middle of the ocean it was like she was back, holding him tightly and whispering jokes in his ear. And Stiles knew that his mom was watching him, guarding him and that this wasn't some delusion path. He breathed out again looking back at his boat, and he knew that all he needed to do was wait.

—

Lydia originally thought he had seen her. She had swam back to the other buoy the moment Stiles had jumped up. And was getting ready to make a break for it when he stopped at the first buoy. He looked so tired, and Lydia felt that she was intruding on his own personal moment. She wanted to go to him, comfort him in any way she could, but something about the way his body sagged into the buoy reminded her of the day they had lost Kate. And Lydia knew that this was something Stiles needed to face on his own.

She was impressed by his ability to swim and thought about how much fun it would be to race him one day, until the though of Cora creeped back into her mind and she couldn't rip the image of Stiles swimming with a leggy brunette and never with her. When he made it back to the dock, Lydia made sure that he was safety on his way back to the Harbor before she went home. And when Allison asked her what was wrong, Lydia simply shook her head. Allison tugged her sister in for a hug and Lydia allowed herself to relax in the embrace.

—

Another week passed. Except this time it was Lydia's patience that was wearing thin. His boat hadn't been anchored to the dock in a week, and she was starting to think that something had happened to him. She was getting ready to leave for the Grotto when the whirring caught her attention. She peeked over her shoulder to see _Claudia _ sailing in, but this time it was headed to her buoy and not the dock. Lydia was careful to move to another one without being caught and she laughed when she realized what he was doing.

Of course he figured it out. He was Stiles, and Lydia should have known better than to think her buoy wouldn't have been noticed. _Claudia_ came to a slow stop next to it and Stiles yelled out to the water.

"I know you're out there. And I know you're probably scared, or mad. Chances are you're both, and I understand that. So I'll just wait out here and when you're ready I'll still be here. You hear me Daughter of the Sea, Je t'attendrai!"

He looked so confident in himself and Lydia giggled when his face changed to one of panic.

"Shit, I don't even know if you know French. But that was 'I will wait for you' in French, in case you didn't know. I'm not playing games or anything just so you know. Okay, I'm going to sit down now and wait."

She muffled her laugher when he looked around his boat, as if something was going to magically appear for him to do and when he sat down and grabbed his guitar she could stop the grin that appeared. He played and played and Lydia just circled around carefully, both of them getting lost in the music. But his muffled voice got the best of her and she swam closer to the boat out of curiosity. She went around to the bow of the boat, farther away from where he was sitting and paid close attention to the sounds coming from his phone. Someone was laughing, he was smiling, and it was killing her that she didn't know why or who.

"That sounds like something Isaac would say." he muttered, adding to the laughter, and Lydia scrunched her nose when the soft feminine lilt reached her ears. She couldn't quite make out the words, but Sties laughed again and Lydia shut her eyes trying her best to will away the rush of jealousy that was coming.

"You did that? I bet Isaac's socks blew right off." There was some more muffled talking and Stiles laughed out loud again.

Lydia grumbled under breath, more annoyed at herself that this conversation was getting to her than actually feeling any anger at Stiles.

"Which song do you want now?"

Stiles was reaching for his guitar again and he chuckled at whatever the other person had requested.

"Now how did I have a feeling you were going to choose that one? Are you going to sing with me this time?"

Stiles began strumming and Lydia moved a little closer, closing her eyes and taking in the quite tune he was playing. And when he sung out the first notes she gasped softly, opening her eyes wide.

"Look at this stuff/Isn't it neat?/Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?" Lydia could hear a muffled giggle and a voice singing the next line and she shivered when Stiles' voice wafted over her again.

"Look at this trove/Treasures untold/How many wonders can one cavern hold?/Looking around here you think/Sure, she's got everything. You have to sing with me Malia" he sang into the phone.

"Ready? I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty/I've got whozits and whatzits galore/You want thingamabobs?/I've got twenty!/But who cares?/No big deal/I want more"

Lydia had unknowingly drifted to Stiles side of the boat. She was pressed agains the smooth body of the boat, taking in his singing and she hummed the song quietly under her breath. This song had been one of the first songs she had ever truly loved. It had rung out fuzzily from an old cd player she had found when she was 9. Having Stiles sing it now was like being that age again, carefree and lovely without a worry in the world. She knew now that the song was from a children's movie thanks to Stiles, and it made sense that Parliament would want to keep it hidden from the population. It wouldn't do much good to hear happy endings when it came to the mixing of mer-people and humans.

"Up where they walk, up where they run/Up where they stay all day in the sun/Wanderin' free - wish I could be/Part of that world"

She turned her back to the ocean, letting the lull of his voice to carry her back to a happier less confusing time in her life.

"What would I give if I could live out of these waters?/What would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand?/Bet'cha on land they understand/Bet they don't reprimand their daughters/Bright young women sick of swimmin'/Ready to stand"

She was crying. Something that Lydia wasn't used to doing, and yet this stupid, silly, glasses wearing ground-walker had brought out feelings that Lydia would have been more than happy to leave buried underneath the thrill of adventure-seeking. Maybe this had been what Allison had yelled at her all this months ago, it was never going to be _just a note._

"And ready to know what the people know/Ask 'em my questions and get some answers/What's a fire and why does it - what's the word?/Burn?- Here comes the end, you ready?"

Someone yelled on the other end and Stiles strummed out the last bit of the song.

"When's it my turn?/Wouldn't I love, love to explore that world up above?/Out of the sea/Wish I could be/Part of that world."

The last note wavered a bit and Stiles cleared his throat with his last strum.

"Feeling better now?"

Lydia was gripping her hands together. He was going to hang up soon, and she knew instantly that this was it. She had to do something right now.

"I love you too Malia, see you soon."

His parting words hung in the air and she sucked in a small breath wondering who in the world this girl was that had his love and affection. She slowly pulled herself up from the water, grabbing ahold of the stern and being careful to make as little noise as possible. He was staring down at his phone still and her words came out softly.

"Is she pretty?"

He lurched back, dropping his phone in the process and Lydia giggled softly, pushing aside the nerves and fear that were bubbling under the surface.

"ShitDammitOh my God." he blurted out rapidly and it sounded more like gibberish than actual coherent words. His eyebrows were raised high and his eyes were so wide, Lydia was a bit worried she had seaweed on her face. She wanted reached up to touch her face, but shook away the urge and asked again.

"The girl you were singing for, is she pretty?"

His eyes wandered over her body and Lydia drummed her fingers against the smooth boat, holding back the scream of panic lodged in her throat.

"Huh? Uh you, what?" he stuttered and Lydia relaxed a little at his uneasiness.

"Malia, is she pretty?" she asked once again and Stiles suddenly broke out of whatever daze he was in.

"Malia" he repeated and Lydia nodded, tilting her head and waiting for an answer.

"Yeah," he breathed out and she swallowed back the wave of jealously that was bubbling inside of her. Lydia looked away and he kept on rambling. "She's gorgeous, a total heartbreaker, she does this thing where she wrinkles her nose when she's annoyed and she's so cute. Dad and I are going to have our hands full when she's finally old enough to date. But Scott will be there to help, and so will Boyd and Isaac. Besides, she'll have plenty of people around to help with the awkwardness that is dating in general. Oh my God, I'm just rambling about my little sister now, aren't I?"

His face was beet red, and when his mess of words finally clicked in her head she looked back at him in shock. Lydia shut her mouth quickly, looking down at his phone again and trying to imagine what she must look like. If she looked like him or if like she and Allison, the two looked nothing alike. Stiles watched her carefully, trying to decipher whatever was going through her mind and trying to find the right words to say without going on another rant.

"Malia is your sister?" she drawled out, twirling on a strand of her hair and looking back up at Stiles shyly. He looked so confused and lost at here words, that her confidence immediately boosted up.

"Yeah. What else would she be?"

"I don't know, I was just asking if she was pretty, I'm not even sure how we rounded out to this conversation."

"Well you were the one who seemed shocked that she was my- Oh my God, you thought she was my girlfriend. You thought, oh gross. No way." He wrinkled his nose in distaste and Lydia laughed out loud, stunning him again.

"You don't know what I thought, it's impossible to read minds Stiles."

_Stiles. _

He stopped whatever he was going to ramble on about when his name rolled off of her tongue. This was what everyone talked about when they said that you just knew when things were right. Everything about this moment felt right. He shook his head and started telling her all about Malia again in attempts to ignore the feeling rising in his chest.

"Malia is my little sister. We adopted her a few years back and she's just the little one of the family, you know? Spoiled, always in the spotlight, but a great kid. And she loves _The Little Mermaid. _Completely obsessed with it, refuses to take a nap or go to bed without a song from the movie." He was leaning into her now, at the edge of the stern and Stiles wasn't quite sure when he had moved.

"Never seen it, but you know that. Besides I doubt I'm anything like a ground walker's fairytale."

When had he moved? How was he so close to her right now? Her heart was beating so fast and loud that Lydia was sure he could hear it.

"No," he whispered, "Nothing like the fairytale. You're real." His hand was reaching out to graze her face and suddenly Lydia panicked. She moved swiftly off of the stern and plunged back in to the water and away from him without looking back.

_You're real. _

What was she thinking? Lydia was positive she was going to puke her lunch out and she could hear Stiles yelling after, asking for her name and asking if she's okay. Oh God, she had really done it this time, completely and one hundred percent exposed herself to a ground-walker. She pushed forward straining her arms and fin just to put as much distance as possible from her and Stiles. His voice was long gone when Lydia finally stopped, grabbing a hold of the nearest solid object around her and breathing in deeply through her gills.

_"You're real." _His whisper was swirling around her and Lydia cursed, angry at her own stupidity.

—

Holy Shit.

She was real.

Damn.

She was beautiful.

Fuck.

He probably scared her off.

Holy Shit.

She was real.

Stiles stared off into the spot in the ocean that he had last seen her figure move through the water and simply smiled. Because she was real, and she had been here with him and it really was going to be okay.

—

Stiles came out every day after that. He would ride to the Harbor from class, and sail _Claudia _slowly around the buoys, a little further out into the ocean than he normally would, and then back to the Marina. He sang everyday that week too, breaking out every song he though would catch her attention.

He was patient and determined, sketching her face out in his sketchbook whenever his hands weren't attached to the wheel or his guitar. Watching the calm water for any sign that she was back, and committing to memory the tone of her voice. Currently he was stopped a few feet from the buoy, his hands were gliding across a new page in his sketchbook and his voice was ringing out clearly around him.

"Honey you are the sea/Upon which I float/And I came here to talk/I think you should know/The green eyes, you're the one that I wanted to find/And anyone who tried to deny you, must be out of their mind/Because I came here-"

He stopped abruptly, looking out and smiling mischievously. He knew exactly what he needed to do. Stiles disappeared for a few minutes under deck, and when he resurfaced he was wearing a wet suit. Bouncing on his toes he peered over the stern and out into the water, speaking loudly as his body rocked back and forth.

"All right Green Eyes, I'm coming to you this time"

He dove in, rising to the surface after a few seconds and yelling out before going under again. In retrospect, he should have brought goggles and a flashlight with him. But when he had made the decision to dive into her turf Stiles had forgotten that his body wasn't really built for the ocean. It didn't matter that he spent more than half his life in the water or that he studied the ocean, as a human he was never going to compare to an actually being of the sea.

His eyes were stinging and the more he though about it, this was probably the stupidest decision he could have made. What if she was gone forever this time, halfway across the Pacific because he had scared her.

His came up to the surface again taking a breath and treading near _Claudia. _This had definitely seemed like a smarter idea ten minutes ago. He looked back out over the expanse of the ocean and took another breath before going under again and swimming quickly to the last buoy he had seen her fin at, pulling strong strokes to reach his destination faster and when he finally came back up for air Stiles was sure his lungs where going to explode. He looked back at _Claudia _sighing softly and moved his gaze to the other buoys out in the water. Taking a big breath, he slowly dunked his head underwater, opening his eyes and allowing them to adjust. It sure was another world down here, and he wondered what was her favorite part of it all was.

There was a slight movement to his right, and Stiles tuned his head slowly holding onto the hope that it would be her.

—

He was an idiot. A stupid, moronic, Idiot with a capital I. For goodness sake he was a marine biology student, he knew better than to just dive into the ocean this far out without an anchored boat or any sort of equipment. He was smarter than this. Which is of course why there was this infuriating and overwhelming sense of confusion on wether she should kiss him or kill him.

His eyebrows widened when his eyes locked on her figure and Lydia could feel shivers running up her spine. She remembered a time when her mom would tell her and Allison stories about how she and their dad had met. How the world fell away and there was a current of electricity in the water, and if they touched they would be the souls that burned the ocean down with their love. It was all consuming and freeing, and there wasn't anything else in the world that compared to your heart beating against his. Allison would always blush when her mom told them the stories, but Lydia knew that she wanted to wait for the man that made her feel that way.

And here he was, a ground walker with warm beautiful eyes whom she would never have the chance to be with. Her mother had stopped telling the stories of great loved and passion because of his kind. Become distant and regal, picking up the pieces of their torn world and never looking back. Sometimes though, Lydia still caught a glimpse of the woman she used to be, and she wondered if it wasn't such a horrible thing to want a love like the one her mom and dad had.

She treaded closer to him and he watched her body move under the water, his eyes grazing over her scales and gills, eyes alight with wonder and Lydia felt so safe in his presence that she almost forgot how mad she was at him. But suddenly he opened his mouth, heavy bubbles slipping from his lips, and the water rushed into his mouth. He was straining his arms upward and Lydia grabbed his hand, speeding up to the surface.

She wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling his body up to the closest buoy and he was coughing harshly with curses slipping through his lips in between the hacking.

"You are the stupidest, most idiotic, irresponsible, and moronic marine biology student in the world _Glasses_. What the actual fuck do you think you're doing. My home is not some swimming pool that you can dive into without a second thought- it is dangerous. People die out here, did that knowledge somehow not make it through your thick skull?"

He was still coughing, grasping onto the buoy and Lydia was holding her hands on her hips, glaring at him and waiting for his to say something. A laugh erupted from his shaking body causing her to hiss under her breath.

"I had a feeling you would rescue me if I was in distress," a mix of laughter and coughs splitting his words.

"Stop laughing. This is not fucking funny. And you weren't in distress until you saw me, which by the way would have gone very differently if it hadn't been me behind you. Seriously Stiles, what did you think was going to happen when you opened your damn mouth under water?"

She stopped talking, his wide grin caught her attention and she moved closer to him and she lowered her voice and narrowed her eyes.

"What exactly do you find amusing about all of this Glasses?"

"Stiles."

She tilted her head, confused with his response and wondering if the few seconds without oxygen had actually caused some damage to his brain.

"I know who you are-"

"No, I meant my name, you said my name." The words tumbled form his lips and the grin had returned full force leaving Lydia speechless. She opened her mouth to say something, but his eyes were distracting her. How was it possible for his eyes to light up like that? She caught a faint chuckle and shook her head to clear up her mind.

"Never mind what you're doing. What the hell am I doing?" She mumbled to herself and Stiles strained his ear to catch what she was saying. "Breaking News: Daughter of the President for the Pacific Region Commits Treason, fuck."

She closed her eyes, taking in small breaths and willing herself not to lose her shit in front of him. She just had to keep it together, tell him that he had to forget about all of this and move on. Never come back to the Marina, burn all the letters, and stay away.

"Green eyes?" he asked softly and Lydia swallowed back the urge to cry when his voice wafted over her. He was probably going to say something stupid that would dig them both further than they already were.

"You're the President's daughter? As in the President of the Ocean, like you actually have a government?" he let out in one breath and Lydia couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out from her chest. Yep. Stupid, silly, curious ground-walker with bright eyes and a goofy grin that made her mind spin.

"Of course we have a government you idiot," she scoffed lightly, shaking her head and looking up at him again. "I told you we had a government, Stiles don't you pay attention? We live in the 21st Century for fucks sake, mer people had functional governments and communities before you did. And we're good at it too, the only time things manage to get ugly is when-"

"When what?"

"When ground-walkers get involved."

Stiles' smile faltered and he looked over her shoulder, taking in that this wasn't easy for her. Somehow it made it that much more special and real to know she was risking a lot for him.

"I'm sorr-"

"Don't apologize. It isn't like you forced me to write to you, I'm an adult, I make my own decisions- and this was definitely my decision so don't fucking apologize."

He nodded and Lydia smiled up at him. She could tell that he's itching to ask more questions by the small twitch of his lips and Lydia tells him to spill it.

"Well, I mean I guess I didn't think about it all that much because we talked about other things. But you have like police departments, fire-fighters, and teachers and everything?"

Her shoulders shake lightly, laughter slipping through her lips and Stiles' face flushes.

"Not exactly, we have the Mer-Guard and they're basically like your version of a military. They just cover all areas of safety. We have hospitals with doctors, and a judicial system. And there are instructors for all ages that teach various subjects and ages. We're quite capable beings, more-so than ground-walkers if you ask me."

His mouth was open again, gaping at her and she giggled to herself.

"Any other things you want to pick my brain apart on?" She dragged the words out slowly and Stiles followed the movement of her lips. Catching the way her lips came together and separated, how her tongue flicked and her teeth caught the edge of her bottom lip when she finished her question.

She was- fuck.

Stiles cleared his throat, locking his eye back to hers and trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the last 15 minutes. Government, mer guard, instructors, president. President's daughter, holy shit.

"You're the president's daughter?"

She laughed brightly this time, it rang out clearly and he blushed again when he realized that this was already a question he had asked. He muttered something under his breath, but she still answered the question.

"Yes, I am. My mother is the president of our region. And my dad is what you would call a Secretary of State. They're quite a team, turned around our community in the time that they've been in office."

"Wow. That's-"

"Intense? Yeah it is."

His eyes where grazing over her again and Lydia shivered when he moved closer to her.

"So that makes you the beloved first daughter, right?"

"Something like that. Right now though, they would see me as an enemy of the state rather than the beloved daughter of our president." She chuckled out darkly and Stiles cleared his throat before speaking.

"Still no name? Even after committing treason, I think treason guarantees a name don't you Green Eyes?"

He was much too close, jumbling her mind and smiling down at her with his eyes. It didn't even phase her that he was still moving closer to her, he had let go of the buoy at some point and was slowly treading closer to her.

"Come on, you have to give me a clue here."

Lydia opened her mouth when a distant yell caught her attention. She turned her head sharply and Stiles flailed out to grip the buoy when she turned on him. She was cursing and Stiles was running through every possible scenario in which she would stay and nothing bad would happen. But Lydia was already blurting out that she had to leave, that he had to to leave because they weren't supposed to be doing this. He couldn't get a word in and he shot his hand out to grip her wrist before she slipped away again.

"Green-"

Lydia pulled her hand out of his roughly, glaring at him.

"Stiles, you can't be here. Listen to me please and just go. I'll-"

Another muffled yell caught her off guard and she pleaded with him to leave again before disappearing underwater. He watched the ripples above the surface that remained after she left and turned back towards his boat. His strokes were rough and sluggish, but he made it back to _Claudia _fairly quickly. Stiles looked back over at her spot again as he navigated back to the Harbor and hoped that she was okay, that his hesitancy at leaving hadn't caused something, that he would see her again.

_Lydia_.

The name rang in his mind, muffled at first but the more he played the moment in his mind the clearer everything got. And finally when he anchored Claudia it eased out softly, reaching his ears like a song and Stiles held onto that.

—

She was swimming faster than ever, blurring away and swirling past everything and pushing away the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Lydia!"

She halted abruptly, staring out at the reef where Allison was wading slowly.

"There you are, I've been looking for you! Come and see what I've caught."

The tears finally fell and Lydia let out a wobbly laugh full of relief. She rushed to her sister, pulling her in for a tight hug, and the tears turned to violent sobs. Allison tried to ask Lydia if she was okay, but Lydia just held on tighter shaking her head yes, a mixture of cries and laughter coming from her body.

"Lydia, you are scaring me. Are you okay?" Allison asked again, finally tearing herself away from her sister. Allison watched Lydia wipe her eyes and compose herself, her sister let out a deep breaths before looking up at her with a bright smile.

"Yes, I was just. I was so relieved it was you and not…" Lydia's voice trailed off and she was muttering something under her breath. Her eyes drifted over Allison's shoulder and something clicked in Allison's head. Suddenly her recent dreams made sense, the turmoil and confusion, how everything had been murky and distant.

"You were with him. Weren't you? You were glad it was me and not Jackson or the Guard. You were glad it wasn't mom and dad, weren't you?" Allison's voice rose as her words spilled out, making Lydia wince and tread away from her sister.

"Are you out of your fucking mind? Lydia please tell me you were not with him, tell me you did not expose yourself to that ground walker. I can't do this, I can't watch you do this-you promised you were going to be careful, this isn't being careful! You are going to get yourself killed-"

Lydia broke her silence with a harsh laugh and Allison narrowed her eyes.

"I told you that I knew what I was doing, and I still do. Alli you don't need to worry about it. Just trust me."

Allison shut her eyes and turned away from was hard to ignore the way that Lydia's smile had softened and begun to reach her eyes, or how she would sing all the time now. It was odd to think of the Lydia that went to formal with Jackson her junior year at the academy and the Lydia that explored recklessly and lived on the edge of secrets and mystery. It wasn't like that had changed, but it was difficult to realize that the ground-walker had sparked something back into her sister's spirit. Something of the Lydia she had giggled with in the dark before Kate had died and everything changed. Allison was sure that it would have all returned eventually without his help, Jackson's arrogant attitude had been enough to spark the rebellious exploring again, but this was all much to quick. Lydia was changing faster than their world ever would and Allison knew what she had always known. This boy would change everything.

She could hear Lydia breathing behind her, waiting for her to decide where everything went from here, and she thought of the light leaving her eyes if Allison turned and said she was going to their parents. Allison thought of a world in which her sister would be free, and it hurt to think that it wasn't possible. But there was a nagging thought in her brain, that maybe this was what her dreams had been all about. That maybe it was this ground-walker and her sister that would bring a new age. It wasn't like Allison was supposed to know what the dreams meant, they had only just begun and her mother had warned that they wouldn't be clear the first few years. And maybe all the fire and light she saw every night, maybe it was for the best. A tired sigh escaped her mouth and Allison knew that her mind had been made up bout what to do ever since the day she first found out what Lydia was doing.

She turned to face her sister, hoping that her instinct was right and that they would all survive whatever storm was coming.

"I trust you"

Lydia let out a relieved cry, rushing forward to hug Allison again, but her sister put out her palm stopping her.

"But you can't hide things from me Lydia, you need to trust me too."

Lydia nodded once, acknowledging that this was something that she would have to agree to without a complaint.

"No more secrets Lydia, if you are going to do this I need to know that you're actually truly being careful."

"No secrets, I promise Alli."

Allison smiled at Lydia softly reaching her hand out and pulling her sister back in for hug, hopping she made the right choice.

—

He was nervous the entire ride out to the Harbor, her name circling round and round in his head and her eyes staring back at him every time he closed his eyes. Stiles could still hear her voice and the jitters got worse the moment Claudia left her post. He navigated back to the Marina this time, thinking the buoy could be problematic after she had sped off last time. The water was calm out and Stiles felt like his heart was going to combust. There was something sitting at the edge of the Marina and he gripped onto the steering wheel until his knuckles went white.

As he got closer to the dock he realized it was one of his baskets and all he could hear was the blood rushing to his ears, heart still pounding away. He leaned over onto the old dock, gingerly picking up the basket and pulling out a folded piece of paper. His name was on it and Stiles clumsily opened it, wiping away at the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead with his shirt.

_You're the triangle, follow the trail to the star. I'm the one with the green fishtail. _

He scanned the words over again, a smile erupting on his face as his eyes took in what she had left him.

It was a map.

—

Lydia was too tired to be nervous about leaving him the map. She had spent the entire night tidying up the Grotto and moving things around so it didn't look like the tide had just brought in a bunch of junk. Then she had spent the morning making sure she had an appropriate cover story, and that nothing could be traced back to the Grotto.

She was enjoying just floating about in her space, singing out and letting her voice echo back to her without a single care in the world. She had forgotten for an instant about leaving him with the map, allowing herself to shut her yes and just drift in her space. The word went away and Lydia felt calm for the first time in weeks. It was ruined of course with a faint splash that brought her out of her haze and brought her heart rate back up.

"Relax, it's just me. Lover boy is still a no show."

Lydia twirled to face her sister, but her heart was still racing and her senses were more alert than ever. It amused Allison to see her sister look nervous about something, and it managed to drown out the pit of dread she also felt whenever the idea of the ground walker stepping foot into this place flashed across her mind.

"What if the map fell out, or someone else took it? What if something happened to him? Ground walkers are incredibly accident prone, and this one seems to be more so than usual. I mean you remember the first time he came out on the dock and he tripped… Shit, I'm rambling."

Allison laughed and Lydia looked around the Grotto again, letting out a deep breath and taking in the space she had built up on her own. Full of things she knew about, and things she couldn't wait to ask him about. There was a whole section dedicated to everything he had ever given her, and Lydia wondered what he would think about her Grotto.

"I'm sure he's fine Lydia. Why don't you come and grab lunch with me? It could help get your mind off of everything."Allison watched as Lydia glanced at the entrance of the Grotto one more time before turning back to her and nodding.

"Yeah, you're right, Flounders?"

"Yes, Marina keeps going off about their new Ahi, and I heard that the snuck beer in again."

Lydia smirked, catching up to her sister.

"And you say I'm the rebellious one. What would mother say if she knew you were frequenting the local underground bar."

"You're the one that mentioned it, I can just blame it on you if there's a raid."

Lydia's laugh rang out clearly and Allison smiled to herself as her sister's tail blurred past her.

"Last one there pays for the booze."

—

The fear that he just might be losing his mind and making this all up had led Stiles to show up in his father's office. Pacing back and forth and wondering if it was worth it to dig up things from the past. His dad sighed again and Stiles shut his eyes, trying to find the right words.

"Son, if this is another stalling tactic so that Scott can sneak into the Evidence room-"

"You know how I've been sailing out for my capstone?"

His dad nodded, already dreading whatever story his son was going to relay to him.

"Well, I haven't really been sailing out for my capstone."

His father's eyebrows furled and Stiles sighed this time, reaching into his satchel and pulling out a sketchbook and a few folders. The papers in his son's hands were familiar and as the dots lined up in his brain, the Sheriff looked over at the photographs on his desk.

"Stiles, if you've been having trouble with… You know you can always come and talk to me, you're not the only one who lost-"

"No, dad, it isn't that. I just, I've been looking over some of her stuff and I thought, you know-If I looked into it then it would be like she was here again. And some of her stuff was brilliant dad, I've been looking into all her notes and there are things that could change the field and how we research. I'm fine, it's just…"

"Exhausting, yeah she used to say the same."

"Yeah, and I don't really have anyone to talk about it all with, and I need to touch base with someone who knows I'm not going crazy or something."

"Well you know where I live." He smiled sadly up at his son and Stiles chuckled softly.

"Yeah, yeah I do."

"That all you wanted to say?"

Stiles cleared his throat, nodding. He knew that for now this was enough, his dad could handle knowing Stiles was digging through his mom's old journals and sketches. That for now, his dad knowing he wasn't out observing sea otters was enough to keep him grounded. Right now, it was all he needed.

"Yeah. Thanks dad, Dinner with Malia at 7?"

"I'll pick up some steaks after my shift."

He shoved his papers back into his satchel, nodding at his dad and waving reached for the doorknob and his father's voice interrupted his thoughts again."

"Be safe out there."

"Of course dad."

—

He dropped two anchors into the water and _Claudia_ was swaying lightly near the entrance to the cave Lydia had led him to. Stiles looked at the map again tracing his eyes over the trail that she had drawn for him. He looked around at the rocks that led to an entrance, equally terrified and ecstatic to walk through. The location made sense, rocky and jagged, tucked away from the beach-no person in their right mind would actually travel out here for anything. Reception was shoddy, something he had thought about briefly before sailing in further. He was a skilled swimmer and sailer, and made sure to leave a trace back to him in case anything did happen.

Stripping down to his wet suit, Stiles gave himself a final pep talk before finally slipping into the water. It was warm, the tide was swirling and crashing strongly against the cliff and he was treading calmly. Stiles didn't have an inkling of doubt of who he would find inside of the cave and as he climbed up onto the rocks that created its entrance he smiled to himself. The rocks where slippery, and he watched his steps as he stood upright, peering over at _Claudia _one more time before stepping up onto the next rock. It was darker inside and he reached down for the flashlight on his tool belt, flashing it down onto his feet and lighting up a small path further into the cave.

He walked further in and the ocean faded away as he continued, the sound of his feet slapping the rocks echoed around him and Stiles found himself wondering if he was the first human to step into this cave. The reflection of water caught his attention, it was about 15 feet away from him and Stiles could hear something else echoing into the cave other than his steps. He walked a little faster while trying to maintain his arrival a secret, and when he finally came up to the edge of pool of water he stopped.

The space opened up to some sort of underground lake, and when he turned back to where he had come from Stiles realized he had been on an inclined path. It sloped up to create a small cliff within the cave, and as he crept froward he could see that the rocks had created rough shelves that spiraled around the small lake below it. The water seemed to be glowing, it was clear and blue, creating it's own light source which bounced off the walls and Stiles' brain was trying to catch up with his gaze. There where trinkets everywhere, over in a corner he thought he saw his creations among the rest of the stuff.

When his eyes finally froze, it was due to the figure that was resting against the edge of the lake. The echoing he realized, had been her humming. She was leaning back, face tilted up to the ceiling, eyes shut, hands playing with the water, and her fin swirling lazily below the surface.

He was mesmerized, frozen in his place as he watched her. She was so beautiful.

The humming slowed down and her voice rang out delicately.

"and the colors you breathe will bring fiery storms-"

She stopped suddenly, taking in a deep breath and tilting her head in his direction. Stiles could feel his heart rate go up as her eyes opened up slowly. Hazel met chocolate brown and everything faded away. Her lips curved up into a bright smile and his did the same. Stiles brought up his hand to wave shyly and her smile grew.

—

"So you're telling me that you have magic, like you're wizards or something?"

"That's not what I said Stiles."

"You just said that!"

Lydia laughed at his outburst, rolling her eyes back at him and continuing to scroll through his iPod.

"No, I said that we are in touch with the ocean. We have a connection with our world, and we take care of it. And our technology is powered through that connection. We didn't destroy our resources the way ground-walkers did. In fact, a really long time ago mer-people and ground-walkers actually got along. Back when we all held the same respect for our homes"

"You're like Native Americans then, that makes more sense. And I do respect my home.s"

She finally stopped on a song and Stiles chuckled.

"Are you going to ask me to bring you posters of them next?"

"Oh shut the fuck up, they have talent."

"Never said they didn't. Dudes have mad skills. You know, this is Malia's favorite song from the album."

"Really? I would have thought she would be more of a _Happily_ kind of girl."

"That's probably her third favorite, _Best Song Ever_ is second. She says this one is her favorite because she 'feels the drum and Zayn sounds pretty in it.'"

"A Zayn lover, sounds like a smart girl with great taste"

"She has pictures of him all over her room, and she cried when she found out he was engaged. Went on a Zayn strike for like a day and declared Niall was her favorite. And then of course she saw their new music video and everything went back to normal. She is pretty amazing, kids gonna pass out when we see them in concert next month."

Lydia's eyes widened and she suddenly stopped singing along to the song.

"You're going to see them live?"

Stiles nodded, air drumming to the beat of the song and moving his head along to the music.

"Malia's been bugging us about it since the last tour, so this year we thought we would surprise her. The whole gang is going and we're making it a special Malia weekend for her."

Lydia's favorite part was coming up, and she shut her eyes, smiling to herself and trying not to think about the outside world that she would never be a part of. She was happy for Malia, happy that she had an amazing brother and happy that Stiles had amazing friends and an amazing family from all the things she had heard. But something still tugged at her heart, knowing that she would never be a part of it. She would only have him here, and she would never be a part of his life outside of the ocean.

_Oh I will carry you over fire and water for your love / And I will hold you closer, hope your heart is strong enough / When the night is coming down on you we will find a way through the dark…_

"She's going to love that Stiles," she let out quietly, humming the rest of the song to the end. "You know what, I think I do want a poster."

—

"I liked _Pocahontas_ more than I liked _The Little Mermaid_ I mean come on, an octopus witch and a fish for a best friend? At least Pocahontas understood the importance of respecting the earth."

"I cannot believe what I am hearing right now, Ariel is the best princess. She's a mermaid! She goes against everything her world tells her, and loves Prince Eric. You're a mermaid! Isn't this blasphemous. Besides, _Part of Your World_ surpasses everything."

"I will give you that, the music was better. And the fact that I am a real mermaid is what makes me right. You don't get to make assumptions about my world. For goodness sake she talks to a seagull, and the crab is her fucking babysitter."

"Do not even touch Sebastian, he's awesome. I guess I should have seen this coming since you would eat Flounder if he was in front of us."

"Not my preferred meal, but you're right I would eat him. Sebastian too, crab is amazing."

"My ears can't handle this anymore. Stop ruining my childhood. I am never showing you _Finding Nemo_, you would salivate through the whole thing."

Lydia rolled her eyes, gazing down at the chess board in front of her. She smirked to herself as Stiles rambled on about all the films he wouldn't show her and made her move.

"Stiles, this should really stop bothering you. You eat seafood as well, and checkmate."

"It's not the same- wait, what?"

His eyebrows furled and he quickly analyzed the board in front of him. She had him cornered with nowhere to run and Stiles scratched his head.

"How did you? Damn, it seems I've met my match."

Stiles looked up at her and smiled brightly, reaching out to shake her hand. It took her by surprise for a moment given that she was used to Jackson huffing and swimming away whenever she beat him at something. But it seemed that Stiles was going to welcome the challenge and in return he would continue to catch her off guard with everything he did. She shook his hand firmly, taking in his warmth and smiling.

—

Time seemed to stand still when they where together, both of them so unaware of everything outside of themselves. It was how Allison had snuck up on them without anybody noticing. He was playing the guitar, strumming and singing while Lydia flipped through a large notebook. The music was beautiful and Allison found herself smiling at her sister and the ground-walker, holding back hums and thinking of how to announce her presence. Stiles stopped singing and the guitar strums echoed around her, filling her with an inexplicable joy.

"You can stop lurking whenever you want and come join us Alli. Stiles doesn't bite." Lydia called out to her and Allison blushed at being caught.

She heard Stiles let out a laugh, still strumming and singing again. She came out of her hiding place and swam slowly towards them. Stiles eye's lit up when he saw her and there was a warmth in his smile that assured Allison of his sincerity.

"Stiles this is my much more responsible sister Allison, Allison this is Stiles." Lydia introduced them when Allison was closer. Stiles nodded at Allison, setting aside his guitar and extending his hand out to her.

"Nice to meet you Allison."

She stared at his hand and glanced up at Lydia.

"It's a handshake, the ground-walker's like to greet each other that way. Just extend your hand out and grab ahold of it."

Allison raised her eyebrows at her sister and Lydia laughed. Explaining that she thought it was weird too but that to Stiles it was a sign of great respect and honor. Allison turned back to face him, tilting her face at his hand and slowly reaching out to meet his hand. She slipped her hand into his and grabbed ahold of it quickly before letting go and nodding at him. He smiled at her again and reached back for his guitar again.

"Could you play that song again?" She breathed out and Lydia smirked. Stiles chuckled and asked which one. She blushed again, realizing they must have let her lurk for a while before acknowledging she was here.

"The last one, with the guitar solo."

"Ah, Awake My Soul, you've got-"

Lydia interrupted him and Allison held back a laugh when Stiles quirked his head over at Lydia and furled his eyebrows in confusion.

"Hey, what are these supposed to be?"

Lydia flipped the sketchbook over at Stiles and Allison raised her eyebrows at the image in front of her. Stiles blushed, stumbling for an answer. They where circles, with why appeared to be mer-babies inside of them. They ranged from different stages and Allison was confused why the ground-walker just had them floating about in circles and left the mermaids outside of them and looking into them.

"Umm, well, I wasn't sure how you make, how your reproductive system works. I was just messing around. I thought-" He paused, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his neck. "I figured you laid eggs or something"

Lydia laughed out loud and Allison couldn't help but to follow her lead. Stiles was blushing again, shutting his eyes in embarrassment.

"I got it all wrong, didn't I?"

She and Lydia were still laughing, bending over and trying to catch their breath. Stiles joined their laughter, shaking his head.

"Didn't I tell you you could study dolphins to know more about how our bodies work?"

"Yeah but you have a tail, and it covers your, Oh God I can't have this conversation right now."

"Are you scared of talking about it Stiles?" Lydia teased and Allison burst out into laughter again. "Come on you can say it. Repeat after me, where do mer-babies come from?"

He rolled his head and let out a deep breathe, rubbing his hands together and finally facing them. Lydia's eyes held a mischievous glint and Allison was still laughing.

"All right, Lydia, Allison. Where do mer-babies come from?" He blushed as the question left his lips and Lydia grinned brightly.

"Well, Stiles. When a merman and a mermaid love each other very much, they have intercourse. And when they have intercourse." Stiles coughed at the serious tone she was pronouncing her words in and Allison's laughter interrupted her spiel. "The merman's sperm swims into the mermaid's eggs and a mer-baby is conceived. And then after a long and arduous year, the mer-baby is born. It's quite interesting to learn about really."

Stiles' eyes were wide when she finished telling him all about the mer-people's reproductive system.

"You carry them for 12 months? Holy shit."

"How long do ground-walker's carry their children for?" Allison's question burst out in between her laughs.

"9 months, although some come earlier and some later, but a whole year. That is insane."

"9 months? How do your children develop normally?"

"Wait, wait, how…"

Lyda snorted at his beet red expression and rolled her eyes.

"Spit it out Glasses."

"You guys have sex, like humans do?"

"There's the question you've been dying to ask." Lydia glanced down at his sketches again and smiled. "We certainly don't reproduce like this, if you were wondering. Oh Stiles, of course we have sex like humans do."

He swallowed heavily and averted his eyes from her face. Allison lost her composure and laughed again causing him to turn red again.

"How, uh-How does that work?"

"He's like a 5th year with all his questions. I thought you said he was smart Lydia." Allison responded and Stiles stood up quickly and dove into the lake. Avoiding them seemed like a proper response and it gave him the opportunity to wrap his head around everything he had just heard. Mermaids had sex, Lydia could have sex, sex, Lydia, Sex. He shook his head when he came up for air trying to rid his mind of the ideas they kept going back to.

"Well I'm not exactly going to show you Stiles. I guess the easiest way to explain it to you is that there's more than meets the eye when it comes to our tails."

His eyes glanced down to said tail and he quickly looked away when Allison yelled out that their eyes where above the water.

—

"I don't think I've seen Allison laugh like that since she was a third year."

"I'm glad my embarrassment served a purpose."

"It definitely served a purpose," Lydia responded with amusement and Stiles continued sketching in his notebook. A few quick strokes with his pencil and he stopped, turning it to face Lydia .

"So would this be more scientifically accurate?" he asked.

Lydia scanned the drawing and smiled softly. There was an outline of a mermaid's body, all curves, and her belly came out fully. A small outline of a mer-baby was curled up inside and she nodded.

"Almost, the skin of our tails stretches with the belly as well, it doesn't taper down like that, but yes that is closer."

He went back to sketching, his fingers flying across the page, adding shadows and blending in the tail with the skin of the belly.

"My professors would lose their shit if they knew this was more than just a bunch of silly sketches in my journal."

Lydia tensed at his words and slipped back into the water. It didn't happen often, but every once in a while Stiles would make comments about school, his professors, and his academic field. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it and usually ignored it, moving onto another subject. Sometimes when his questions worried him she would feign fatigue just to go home and clear her mind of their time together. Lydia loved being near him, talking to him and learning all about his world, but at times it was difficult to think about their differences. How him learning about her could lead to danger for her entire world. It was the one thing that caused her to be wary of their time together, but she was too invested in whatever it was that this was to stop seeing him.

"Where'd you go just now?" His question brought her out of her thoughts and Lydia turned to face him again.

"You won't tell them though, will you? That they're more than just silly sketches, or anything else" She whispered, avoiding his gaze.

"Lydia." Her name fell from his lips in a rush breath and when she met his eyes they where closer than she anticipated. He was watching her gently, wading closer to her and Lydia's breath caught.

"I want you to always remember what I am about to tell you," he said clearly with determination in his eyes. "Lydia Argent Martin, I swear on my life that I will never intentionally do or say anything to hurt or expose you. I will protect you and your family always. And if I ever go back on my word, may the sea swallow me whole and take my life." He finished speaking mere inches from her and reached out to grasp her hand. "I would never betray you Green Eyes, you have to know that."

Lydia could feel his legs treading, creating small waves of water in her direction. She could hear his heart beating steadily and his hand was gripping hers firmly. Her eyes where staring back into his and Lydia swallowed back the three words that had been fighting to leave her mouth for quite some time now. Instead she nodded in assurance and pulled his body on for a hug before she could change her mind.

"Thank you." She murmured against his ear and Stiles pulled her body closer to his.

—

Lydia was in a hurry. She had calculated her time precisely, but Jackson had found a way to muck it all up. She should have known she could only successfully avoid him for so long, but Lydia had been hoping that he would give up on annoying her by now. Given that Jackson took her indifference towards him as a challenge, that was not what happened.

What ended up happening was Jackson cornering her in the courtyard after her last lecture and harassing her about the upcoming President's Ball. Lydia couldn't believe he still thought they would be attending the event together. Further proof that he never failed to disappoint with his level of complete idiocy. By the time managed to escape she figured she would be a few minutes late. When she saw the line at Flounders, Lydia thanked the Gods that Alli had reminded her to place her order the night before.

She was out of breath when she finally reached the Grotto and she took a moment to settle down. Lydia could hear faint trickles of music and she smiled. When she finally entered and came up to the surface Stiles muttered something under his breath, looking over her with relief and she smiled sheepishly. Their words rushed out, knocking into each other and they laughed.

"Sorry I'm late, Jackson cornered me after class and the line at Flounders was insane."

"I was going to wait 5 more minutes before I did something really stupid."

Their words stumbled around each other again and Lydia motioned that Stiles go first as she swam further into the Grotto.

"Not that I knew exactly what I was going to do, but I'm sure it was going to be incredibly stupid." He continued and Lydia chuckled, reaching up to place her parcels on the rocks.

"I had half a mind to kill Jackson when he wouldn't shut the fuck up, so I think we're in the same boat."

He laughed deeply, shoulders shaking, face scrunched up, it echoed all around them and Lydia swore she could feel his soul pouring into her. He reached behind him and pulled forward a basket, grinning brightly as his laugh subsided.

"The dessert as promised, m'lady."

She smiled up at him, unwrapping her parcel, "And dinner is served," she replied.

There was an assortment of seafood before them, and Stiles looked over all of it unsure of where to start.

"This one is my favorite," Lydia pointed out the salmon to him and he nodded. "Here, you take some seaweed, place the salmon over it, then drizzle this over it and eat it!"

She demonstrated the process to him brightly, closing her eyes and savoring the salmon she popped into her mouth. Stiles was entranced by her, distracted completely by the look of complete satisfaction on her face as she ate. Her eyes opened again and she blushed when their eyes met again, "Now you try."

He reached forward, replicating her process and Lydia looked at him hopefully when he took a small bite. Stiles wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the explosion of flavors in his mouth certainly wan't it. He was never going to be able to enjoy sushi again after this. The salmon was fresh and he could taste a touch of a spice in it, the seaweed was sliced thinly and somehow managed to be just the right texture, the sauce was just the right consistency and it added the perfect element of sweetness to the whole thing. Stiles finished the rest of the salmon quickly, shutting his eyes and a moan escaped his mouth as he chewed and savored everything.

Lydia's lips stretched into a bright smile as he ate and she chuckled in relief.

"Holy shit, that's amazing."

The rest of dinner went similarly, Lydia teaching pointing out and explaining everything she had brought and Stiles cursing in satisfaction. Both of them talking about random things in between bites and sharing tidbits of their week. Stiles was excited about the new progression he'd mastered that week and was rambling on about the guitar when Lydia heard something at the entrance of the Grotto. Her head snapped up to look in the direction of the sound and Stiles stopped talking, but when Allison's head broke through the water she smiled.

"Please tell me you saved me something, because I am starving."

Lydia laughed and pointed to the unopened parcel on the rocks.

"I love you."

"Hey what about me? I brought dessert!" Stiles blurted out and Allison chuckled.

"Hmm, well you're not too bad yourself Stilinski."

He grumbled, hiding a small smile before jumping back into his conversation. Lydia's attention went back to him and Allison took a moment to watch them before reaching over for her food. There was something about the way they looked at each other that filled Allison with hope and she forgot about how everything she'd know her whole life told her that this was wrong.

—

"Lydia?"

"Stiles."

"If I ask you something, will you—will—uh—"

"Spit it out Glasses."

"Do you think that ground-walkers will ever be accepted in your world?"

The air left her body and Lydia looked away. She wanted to say yes, to be able to look him in the eye and tell him that hey would somehow be the exception to everything her world was against. But she knew that giving false hope killed you, it festered and turned all the hope into despair. So she reached over to grasp his hand, finally looking into his eyes and breathing out slowly.

"I wish I could say yes, but we promised each other the truth a long time ago. No, I don't think my world will ever accept your kind. I wish that they would be able to know you, to see that you're not a monster—but that's all you'll ever be to them."

He let out a small sigh and Lydia winced when he pulled his hand away and looked around the Grotto, avoiding her eyes.

"I'm sorry Stiles, I wish things were-"

"You don't need to apologize. I know."

Lydia tried to find the right words to change the silence that filled the Grotto but Stiles found a way to make it right again. The strums of his guitar washed away the empty ache in the pit of her stomach. When he nudged her, her voice rang out, filling up the holes in his heart and he knew it didn't matter. Because as she looked into his eyes and their voices blended together, Stiles knew he was in love with her.

Lydia closed her eyes and hummed the rest of the song, biting back the three words she'd buried deep inside her after that day three weeks ago when she had realized she was in love with him too.

—

"That's cheating!"

Lydia laughed out loud and swirled out of his reach again.

"You can't—Agh, Lydia!"

"Come on Stiles, you're the one that said you could catch me."

She swirled away from him quickly again, sending a small wave in his direction with her tail and she smiled when she heard him let out a stream of curses. When she felt him moving towards her again Lydia sped off, but she realized her mistake when she opened here eyes. She was reaching the edge of the lake and was going to run into the rocks if she didn't stop, if she turned Stiles would run into them instead. So she stopped herself before either of them could slam into the edge and come out injured, causing Stiles to bump into her. She grabbed his body, lifting him up to the surface and they were both breathing loudly.

Stiles shivered when her hands loosened around his waist and brushed upwards against his skin lightly. Her eyes where so green, and he could see the flecks of gold in them that made them shift colors during the day, she was so close and his heart was beating loudly. Before he could change his mind, he brought his hands up to cup her face, leaning into her and breathing her in. He felt her breath hitch, her hands dig into his body again, and when his lips met hers he felt his heart stop.

They where wrapped around each other, lips pressing against each other softly, and when they pulled away Lydia's eyes where open wide. Stiles felt his heart beating again, thumping wildly inside him as they stared at each other, and then Lydia's hands trailed up his body to wrap around his neck. He shivered again, holding her face gently and his mouth curved into a small smile. When his lips parted, Lydia leaned in and stole whatever he was going to say out of his mouth. Crushing her mouth against his again and moving her lips against his, nipping his bottom lip and breathing harshly against him. He pressed back, moving with her and their mouths molded against each other, caressing and opening up to each other. Their hearts were beating against each other, breaths mingling together, lips gliding in sync, and the world disappeared around them.

When they finally pulled back, gulping in breaths, both gripping each other and looking into each other's eyes—the world was a new place. They weren't sure how long they drifted there, lips meeting again and again, smiling into each other, curving their bodies closer and softly moving together. They laughed quietly, bruised lips caught between their teeth and Stiles bumped his nose against heres, grazing her face and smiling again before leaving a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"I think that I never want to stop doing that with you."

She giggled, threading her fingers through his hair softly and sighing into his body.

"I think that too."

They weren't really aware of the time passing as they laughed and kissed, smiled, and whispered into each others ears. And long after Stiles had gone, she couldn't stop smiling. She was floating around the Grotto with a silly grin etched into her face and everyone in a while her fingers would reach up to trace her lips and she would sigh happily. When Allison rushed into the Grotto, eyes wild and trying to catch her breath, Lydia was thinking about how smooth his lips felt against hers and suddenly her heart dropped.

"Alli?" she whispered softly, the color draining from her face and her hands curling into fists.

"They know, Lydia I am so sorry, Oh fuck, I—Lydia I don't know how they found out, but they know and you need to get out of here. We need to destroy it, we need to get back. Fuck!" Her sister's voice was crazed and frantic, and Lydia felt like someone had reached into her and ripped her heart out. Laving a gaping hole inside of her as she looked around at their place, Allison's voice fading away as the blood rushed in her ears. This couldn't be happening, not now, it was a joke. The world was falling apart around her as Allison's words hit her again, and suddenly it was like someone had thrust her heart back inside her body, with a hard tight grip that pained her and her whispers broke through as the grip loosened and all that was left was a damaged heart that was fighting weakly to beat again.

"No, no no, no, no, no, no…"

Her eyes where glazing over and Allison was gripping a small round object in her hand. And then the world stopped again, but this time it wasn't because of the way his lips felt against her, this time it was because of the two people who were suddenly standing inside of the Grotto. They were so still that Lydia felt for a moment that she was imagining it a lll, until her mother's voice broke through and the sobs attempted to bubble out of her body.

"Aiden, get Allison out of here."

The quiet shadow that Lydia hadn't noticed before darted in and took Allison away, leaving her alone with them and Lydia but back the cries that were still stuck in her throat. Wiping away at the hot tears that had escaped her eyes, lifting her head high and trying to compose herself against the storm that her mother was sure to unleash. She sent her father a pleading look, letting out a shaky breath when he avoided her eyes. Steely green eyes, so alike and yet different from hers, bored into her as her mother swam closer.

"What exactly where you thinking when you made contact with a ground-walker Lydia? Did you think you could get away with it, is this some kind of joke to you? How in the world could you let yourself become involved with one of them? How could you be so stupid? Answer me!"

"Daddy." Lydia pleaded, looking past her mother. Victoria's hand shot out, gripping her chin and forcing Lydia's eyes to face hers.

"If you think you can get away with what you've done here with those tears you are dead wrong. You better be thankful Aiden came to me first when he discovered what you've done. If you ever do anything to jeopardize us like this again, I will send you to your death myself, do you understand?"

"Victoria." Chris' bit out harshly.

"Don't Chris, She betrayed us and I will not tolerate it. I will not tolerate our daughter fraternizing with a ground-walker and putting us all in danger."

"You don't even know him!" Lydia interrupted and Victoria whirled around. The hard slap rung out inside the Grotto, and Lydia gasped, reaching up to touch the side of her face that was flushing brightly.

"Shut your mouth," Victoria breathed out and Chris wedged himself in between his wife and daughter.

"All right, that's enough. I've already had ground-walkers destroy my family once, and I won't let it happen again. Lydia you are forbidden from ever speaking to this boy again, you are forbidden from ever coming to this place again. Do you understand me?"

_"Nothing like the fairytale. You're real."_

_"Damn, it seems I've met my match."_

_"I would never betray you Green Eyes, you have to know that."_

_"I think that I never want to stop doing that with you."_

It all flashed though her mind as her father's words sunk in. His laugh and the way his eyes would crinkle, the way his hair was always messy and how his glasses always seemed to be on the verge of falling off his face, the way his voice calmed her and gave her shivers at the same time, and how his words would get all tangled when he talked to fast, the way his lips felt against hers and how strong his arms felt around her. Her eyes bounced around the Grotto, trying desperately to take everything in for the last time, to hold onto him and everything in this place that was theirs. And when her father wrapped a hand around her worst, dragging her away from it all Lydia whimpered and the damn finally broke.

The tears rolled down her face and the sobs where wracking through her body as she desperately held onto everything that had happened from the moment she saw Stiles out on the marina.

"I love him." It slipped out her mouth quickly and Chris tightened his grip on her, while Victoria muttered something under her breath. "I love him, and you can't take that away from me. You can try and pretend like this didn't happen, you can destroy everything, bury it all under your facade of perfection, and you can lock me away but it won't change that I love him. I love him and he loves me."

"Ethan, burn it all." Victoria commanded cooly and Lydia sucked in a breath. She loved him, and they could burn the whole damn ocean if they wanted to, but Lydia Martin Argent, daughter of the President was still going to love Stiles Stilinski the marine biology student with warm eyes that made her feel like she was on fire.

—

He had spent half the night grinning up at his ceiling with a stupid grin on his face. Committing to memory the taste of her lips, and how she ran her fingers through his hair. Malia had asked if he was sick, at dinner and Scott had asked if he'd finally gotten laid when he came over to pick up the notes from their lecture. Stiles was too happy to even answer them, he just kept smiling and shaking his head at the comments his little sister and best friend had made. When he finally drifted off to sleep, he dreamed about kissing her again, holding her and being with her.

HIs smile was still plastered on his face when he woke up in the morning, and Malia didn't ask so many questions because he made blueberry pancakes and sang her favorite song while he danced and cooked around the kitchen. And when he finally dropped Malia off at her friends house, Stiles practically flew off to the docks. He hummed contently as he prepared _Claudia _to sail out.

"You were right Ma. Oh where you right. I know you'd love her, she's absolutely brilliant. And I love her Ma, I love her." He laughed to himself, looking up at the sky as the bout moved swiftly across the ocean, grinning up at the clouds and blowing a kiss up to sky.

When he stepped into the entrance to the Grotto Stiles knew something was off. His footsteps echoed too loudly and there was the faint smell of smoke reaching him. He fastened his pace, running forward to look into their place. HIs eyes where met with nothing and Stiles know that it was all wrong. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut, left without air and he welcomed the loss of breath when he dove into the lake. HIs lungs where burning when he finally came back up for air and his eyes searched the cavern wildly for a sign that what they had existed in this place. But it was all gone.

"No, no, no, no NO!" He yelled out and Stiles was gasping for air as his cries echoed back to him. This wasn't happening, he shut his eyes and gripped onto the edge of the rocks counting under his breath. But when his eyes opened again, it was all still gone and it wasn't a nightmare. He felt like he couldn't breathe, his vision going hazy and all he could hear was her voice surrounding him and a blur of her hair always escaping him.

_"Glasses."_

_"Is she pretty?"_

_"Stiles"_

_"I think that too."_

"Ma…" Stiles couldn't bring himself to finish whatever he was going to say instead focusing on his breathing and grasping onto everything that had happened in that place.

—

168 hours, not that she was counting, had passed.

Her parents had separated her form Allison and released a statement that said she had fallen ill. She missed the President's ball, not that she cared, and her coursework had been sent to her room where it had piled up in a corner seeing as she was refusing to do anything. Aiden had been assigned to her room, and Lydia get like screening every time she could see his fin underneath the other side of her room. Lydia spent most of her time holding onto the only thing in her possession that she still had from her time with Stiles. The shell necklace she'd made at the Grotto about a month ago while he rambled on about how Boyd was finally going to propose to Erica.

She would rub her fingers against the small grooves of the shells and remember his voice as the hours ticked by. It was too risky to try and bring out her letters with Aiden outside the door, checking in on her every few hours and never missing her meal times, but just knowing that his words to her where hidden safely away in her room was enough to make her smile whenever the room felt like it was suffocating her.

She could hear a flurry of harsh muffled words outside the door and Lydia at up in her bed, clutching the necklace tightly in her hand. Where they finally back? Here to yell at her some more?

"Aiden, I am seeing my sister! Now move!" The yell broke through as the door flew open and Lydia breathed out in relief when her sister rushed in. She could feel the tears threatening to fall again, a knot in her throat constricting her breathing as Allison flew towards her and wrapped her arms tightly around her.

"I'm so sorry Lydia, I am so sorry."

"Allison, you can't be here. Your parents—"

"Shut up Aiden, my parents can't stop me from seeing my own sister."

Lydia held onto Allison, not saying a word as her sister rubbed slow circles on her back. And when Aiden finally backed out of the room to let them be, she finally opened her mouth and searched for the right words.

"Alli, I'm so sorry."

"Oh Lydia, I know. I promise we are going to fix this. I was wrong, and I promise we are going to make them see that they are wrong too."

Lydia nodded slowly and pull back from their hug, tilting her head at Allison and hoping that she would understand what she was about to ask her. When she dangled the shell necklace in front of her, Allison's eyes lit up and she nodded.

—

336 hours and 38 minutes, not that he was counting, had passed.

The trips to the Grotto where constant, as where the ones to the Marina and to their buoy. But there wasn't any sign of her, or any sign that she or anyone like her existed. Stiles had started to think he had imagined it all, that it was all some elaborate hallucination from the heat. He had even driven himself to the mental institution and sat in his car debating on wether he should admit himself in for a few days.

But he had reached under the seat of his car for he box full of notes and letters they had exchanged and Stiles was reminded that it was all real and that it had definitely all happened. He'd wandered around for a few hours after that, driving along the coast and finally stopping on the side of the road and yelling out into the wind. He had skipped 3 classes before he thought about how mad Lydia would be if she found out he wasn't going to school. And for the most part, Stiles had done a good job of hiding the fact that he was slowly going insane with worry.

Now, glancing around at the lake and empty Grotto, Stiles pulled at his hair again, as if it could actually help. And when he turned way from the entrance, the wall shells caught his eye. They were tucked away carefully behind a few rocks, and Stiles knew for a fact that they hadn't been there yesterday. He was positive there was a chance they hadn't been there for more than an hour, and his body moved quickly towards the rocks, long arms reaching behind to grasp the small necklace.

He remembered her making it. Her hair had been in a braid and she had laughed a lot that day. Her hands had moved quickly, tying together the necklace and every once in a while he would stop what he was doing, completely entranced by everything she did. It seemed that that moment had passed years ago, when really it couldn't have been more than a month. His finger ran along the necklace, and that was when his eyes caught a small inscription inside one of them. He lifted the necklace up to his eyes and felt his heart beating erratically as the words planted themselves into his brain

_wait for me._

—

They let Lydia go back to her courses after a month of being quarantined. Victoria made sure she was escorted to campus and back, but at least they had stopped trying to separate her and Allison. Chris chose to not say much, in hopes that if he kept silent it would be easier to forget everything that had happened. But every time he caught sight of his eldest daughter's eyes, he knew there wasn't much he could do to forget.

Stiles threw himself into school again, and he waited. The days moved by faster when he worked until he was so tired that he would crash the moment his body hit his bed. His trips to the Grotto slowly diminished to once a week as the days bled by and Stiles got used to a routine she wasn't a part of anymore. If he was being honest, it got easier and it hurt less to wait if he wasn't sitting around in the place that used to be theirs.

Victoria got the brilliant idea to invite Jackson to family dinners after Lydia had spent a whole afternoon singing his songs all around their home. Chris wished he could wipe the smug of the stupid boys face whenever he sat down and Victoria made it clear that she found him to be the perfect match for their daughter. He found that it was harder to watch his wife slip further into this fit of rage against Lydia for her feelings and actions.

Scott knew that something was off, but he kept quiet and went along with it. Knowing that when Stiles was ready, he would open up. Malia knew he was sad, but he was always sad around this time of the year so she never really question it. And Stiles just kept going through the motions, always waiting and never forgetting. He documented the things he knew she would want to know and found himself collecting lost things she would love.

Chris put an end to whatever path Victoria wanted Lydia and Jackson to go down after Lydia finally broke down and cried again for the first time in months. He put aside his responsibilities as a member of office for their world, instead held his daughter as she cried over the boy she loved. When Lydia finally stopped, Chris wanted to say that it was going to be okay but the words never made it out before Lydia left and left him alone with his thoughts.

Cora asked him out on a date and Stiles wrestled with his answer for a week before saying no. Scott finally stopped waiting for Stiles to open his mouth and yelled at him until Stiles confessed he was in love with someone else and he thought he'd lost her forever. But at least his chest felt lighter now, and Scott understood why he looked like he was missing a part of himself. Stiles spent hours fitting all the things he'd been accumulating in the spots he imagined she would want to display them. It felt like home when he was done and for the first time in months it didn't hurt as much to be in their place.

Chris found the letters and read her journal, convincing himself that it wasn't an invasion of her privacy if he was trying to fix things. Victoria was tired of being angry, remembering when she fell in love with Chris and how much her parents had disapproved. The lines got blurred, and country didn't seem to be more important than her own daughter. Allison finally told them about the dreams and Victoria cried. Aiden was finally relieved of his duties as Lydia's guard and Chris finally talked to Lydia.

—

She was lying on her bed, looking up at the ceiling and grasping onto the memory of his smile. She couldn't remember his laugh and it scared her that sen when she was trying as hard as she was to hold onto him, he was slipping through the cracks. A strong knock brought her out of her thoughts and she sighed.

"What's the point of knocking if you're going to come in anyway?" She asked when Chris stepped into the room. She felt her father come and sit down next to her and she let out a strangled breath when she glanced over at the box he placed next to her. A dark chuckle left her lips and it morphed into a sob that she stopped before it could leave her body.

"So does this mean you're going to finally send me away?"

"No. I've been trying to think of what I want to say to you and I don't think there is anything I could say for not being your father throughout this whole situation. I could say that I'm sorry, and it wouldn't make up for choosing to ignore you when you needed me."

"Dad—'

"No Lydia, just hear me out. Your mother and I, we weren't your parents these past few months, we were government officials caught up in appearance and politics and we handled this as if you were our citizen, and not our daughter. You know when I fell in love with your mother, your grandfather hated me and I remember what it was like to be young and in love and be told that I didn't know what I was talking about. Ground-walker or not, we failed you sweetheart and I'm trying to fix that now."

Lydia's eyes had opened so wide as her father spoke, that she felt her face might freeze in that position for the rest of her life, and everyone would think she'd finally lost it.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I know how you feel, and I am sorry that I was a part of making you feel like your feelings are irrelevant. You shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes of our past, neither should he for that matter. Losing Kate the way we did, it blinded us and we turned into bitter creatures that where unable to forgive and look past. He really does seem like quite the character, reminds me of Kate actually."

"Dad?" she asked hopefully, unsure of where exactly this conversation was going.

Chris left her bed, looking at her intently as she sat up and clutched her journal to her chest.

"If this is what you want, if he's what you want Lydia." He paused, looking past her and swallowing slowly. "There's a way for you to be with him. But there isn't any turning back, you make this choice and that's it. You can't undue it, and I need you to really think about what you would be giving up and if he's actually worth it."

"What?" she gaped at him, running over his words in her head. "There's a way for me to—how?"

"A long time ago, there would be chosen ones to become ground-walkers in order to bring peace and build a bridge between the two worlds. It hasn't been done in centuries, but it's still very possible. It would lead us all into a new age, one where our existence could be discovered again, but if there was anyone that could lead us into a new age it's you Lydia. You just need to be 100% positive that it's what you want. So you need to make sure that this is what you really want"

He left the room, leaving her with whirling thoughts and she jumped when the door opened again. Her mother entered and Lydia immediately attempted to hide her journal and letters, but her mom just lifted a hand to stop her.

"It's okay, I'm not here to yell at you again. I'm here to talk."

Lydia's eyes narrowed as her mother paced, opening and closing her mouth and sighing every few seconds before Lydia spoke.

"Well, talk."

Lydia listened as her mother spoke, taking in everything she was saying and when Victoria finished Lydia felt like the woman in front of her was a new person.

"That's why you hate them so much isn't it? Not just because of Kate and everything that happened, but because you fell in love too."

It wasn't a question and Lydia looked at her mother curiously, it didn't matter after all what was said now. Her mother had loved a ground-walker once too, before she was in love with her father and that boy hadn't loved her back. If there was anything Lydia knew about her mother, was that her pride often got in the way of the important things.

"I love your father, I've loved him from the moment I met him Lydia. But before him, yes, I loved someone else and then he took Kate from us, practically destroyed us and I stopped believing that there was any good in them. I let myself drown in my anger at him and I didn't stop to think that maybe I was angrier that he used me to get to Kate and then when he was done with her he didn't need us for anything other than a payday."

Victoria had made her way over to Lydia's bed, extending her hand out to her daughter.

"I want to show you something."

Lydia nodded, reaching over and placing her hand in her mother's.

—

She knew where they where going as soon as they made the second turn out of their home and her heart began beating against her chest quickly. Lydia felt like it was going to jump out of her chest when they reached the entrance of the Grotto, and she stopped behind her mother.

"When you go in, you'll know why I know this is different. And I want you to know that while there is a part of me that might never approve of this, I will always love you and if this is what you want, I will grant it to you. I'm going to go back now, and I'll wait for your answer."

Victoria turned, leaving her at the entrance and Lydia's hands where shaking as she slowly drifted into their place. When she broke through the surface and came up for air above water, Lydia felt all the warmth that had left her in the past 5 months fill her up again in an instant. There where trinkets placed along her walls, things she'd never seen before but she already loved. And there was his guitar, strategically placed against the rocks along with a basket full of what she knew where letters. As she turned and looked at what he had built up for her, Lydia one what her decision would be without a single doubt in her heart and mind.

The mer-world was shocked when Victoria announce that not only would there be a changing ceremony, but that she would be stepping down from office in 6 months. But as the date approached for Lydia to transform into a ground-walker, there was more excitement rather than judgement. Saying goodbye wasn't easy, Lydia and Allison both cried. Falling asleep in the same bed on her last night and staying up for most of it as they talked in hushed tones about how this would change everything.

The morning the change was scheduled, she hugged her sister tightly and reminded her that she loved her and that she would always be with her. She kissed her parents and told them she was ready when they were. It took place in the Grotto, just her parents and an elder form the city where present and when Lydia woke they where gone. A letter waiting for her by the rocks about what she would need to know now and some clothes set out for her. She knew her body was different, could feel that she wasn't the same and yet when she pulled herself up out of the lake, she thought for a moment that she was still going to have a tail, and that after five minutes on land she was going to shrivel up and die.

Instead she was met with long legs that where still wobbly, body parts that where new and her gills where all gone. She was breathing in and out, and she swore the air tasted differently now. Putting on the clothes laid out for her made her giggle, and she stretched her legs out, kicking them and marveling at her feet. She read the words of her parents and slowly stood, balancing on her toes and taking small steps across the rocks. It felt odd to be walking, and her toes where tingling with every move she made, Lydia found that while she loved this new feeling she missed the water against her skin and so she say at the edge and swung her legs into the lake. She moved her legs underwater and laughed again at the sensation the water caused against her smooth skin. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't catch the sound of footsteps entering from above.

She heard his voice before she saw him.

"Lydia."

And then there was a blur as he dove into the lake and swam quickly over to her, his long arms reaching up to wrap around her and his hands coming up to cup her face. Her hands came up to grasp his neck and she before she could say anything he was pressing his lips against hers. He leaned into her and Lydia was positive that they where both crying as their mouths move frantically against each other. When her legs came up to wrap around his waist, Stiles' eyes snapped open and he pulled away.

"I've finally lost my mind. I'm going crazy, this is all just some hallucination and I'm going…"

His voice had gotten high, and he was breathing wildly, gasping and holding her face tightly as he rambled on unintelligibly. Lydia held onto him tighter and leaned back into him, whispering that it was okay, and she covered his mouth with hers before he completely lost it. When she pulled away this time, Stiles was watching her with wide eyes and he whispered out her name.

"I promise that it's me and that you aren't going insane. It turns out, we are kinda magical after all, and that means that I could change if I wanted to…" This time she was rambling and Stiles cursed quietly before shutting her up. She laughed against his lips, their teeth knocking against each other and she grinned into his mouth as he lifted her up and set her on the rocks. Their breaths mingled against each other, foreheads touching as he pulled away again and when he looked down to see her legs, Stiles cursed again.

"I know, I've been thinking that since I saw them."

"I missed you."

"I missed you."

"So does this mean, that you get to come up to my end now?"

"It does."

He laughed, leaning into her and placing a soft kiss on her forehead. They awkwardly stumbled out of the water, and she yelled when he stoop up bringing her up with him, laughing when he lifted her up and twirled her.

"I love you."

"I love you."

They stood there for a moment, holding each other firmly and Lydia knew that she was never going to tired of hearing those three words leave his mouth.

"Could you stop sucking face so I can properly threaten Stiles now?" Allison's voice broke trough the silence and Lydia whirled around to face her sister. She was there, in the middle of the lake smiling smugly, her parents behind her and Lydia blushed.

"How long have you been there?"

"You're not a very tall ground-walker you know."

"That's what you have to say to me know that I have legs?"

"I thought you would be taller."

Chris and Victoria laughed, and Lydia stuck her tongue out at Allison, shivering when Stiles wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I happen to like her height Allison."

"Of course you do, you're the one sucking face with her."

Lydia blushed again and coughed nervously.

"Do you really think I'm too short though?"

"Nah, I think you look lovely Lydia. And you, don't think for a moment that I won't kill you if you ever hurt my sister. And I'll know."

"Wouldn't expect anything else from you Alli."

Lydia grinned at her family and weaved her hands into his.

"All right, well you take care of her you hear." Allison said and she blew her sister a kiss before leaving the Grotto.

Chris and Victoria looked over their daughter, soft smiles covering their faces.

"Take care of her, we'll be watching." Victoria stated softly and Chris continued.

"Don't be a stranger," they both concluded "We love you Lydia."

Stiles nodded and Lydia smiled at her parents.

"I love you both two."

And then they where gone, Lydia gazed out of the water, leaning back against Stiles and catching her breath.

"You ready Green Eyes?" Stiles whispered into her ear and Lydia turned to face him, grazing her fingers against his cheek.

"Are you ready Glasses?" She teased and he laughed, leaning into her again and nodding as he met her lips again.

...

eek, all right well i hope you enjoyed it! and if you guys have any questions you can reach me at my tumblr!

my username is quandtueslas

also for the sake of things, lets all agree that sauces are totally a thing that work underwater and all that fun stuff.

love you all! have the best week.


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